Movie Week II, Day 5

August 3rd, 2009 · No Comments

majestic_crest

Majestic Crest Theater The Hurt Locker Monday 8/3/09, 7:30 pm

Price: $11. Concessions: None. Audience: 10 out of 500 seats, not an encouraging showing. Trailers/advertising: One trailer only, for Julie & Julia, which opens Friday at the theater. Projection: 35mm platter.

The first of this week’s theaters I hadn’t been to before, the Crest has long been on my list of cinemas to visit. It’s less than a block away from yesterday’s theater, the Billy Wilder, just across Wilshire. It’s got a rich history going back to 1940, when it was born as the UCLAN, an awkward nod to its Westwood neighbor, UCLA. Its current look, though, only dates back to the 1980s, when Disney renovated the theater and added lots of appealing but inauthentic architectural touches. The interior of the single screen theater is quite impressive, with an accurate illuminated star map on the ceiling, complete with shooting stars, and a three-sided mural along the back and sides of the theater depicting different buildings, signs, and marquees from the heyday of Los Angeles style.

The film was intense and engaging, with a constant sense of dread and impending doom hanging over it. That, combined with the shaky camerawork, put me off my intended post-movie snack of an ice cream sandwich at Diddy Riese. Next time.

Tags: Film · Los Angeles ·